Is that who you imagine when you think LinkedIn influencer? If not, it’s time to change the way you think about LinkedIn! MISCONCEPTION #3 LINKEDIN IS DEAD The last misconception I want to discuss today is “LinkedIn is dead.” Before that, LinkedIn had been trending down, but it’s on its way back up. Now, not saying that everything Microsoft does makes sense, but they saw $26.2 billion worth of potential in the platform, and I wouldn’t ignore that. Since then Microsoft has added video – which, honestly has completely changed the platform and brought new life into it. And, LinkedIn is in the process of rolling out live video! I think today less than 30 people in the world have access to it, but the way they are rolling it out is brilliant! They have created a product that has so much demand that 100s of people are applying to get access to LinkedIn Live every single day! And why not? Those who get early access to LinkedIn Live are going to get so much exposure and added benefit. (Unfortunately, these things are usually rolled out to the US first, so us Canadians might be on the waiting list for awhile). Microsoft paid $26.2 billion for LinkedIn in 2016.
Unlike other platforms, when users are on LinkedIn they are looking to network with others. They haven’t logged on to look at cat vids, pictures of their grandchildren, or take a quiz telling them which game of thrones character they are (I’d like to think that I’m a Daenerys BTW) LinkedIn is where most Fortune 500 decision-mak- ers and executives like to spend their spare time. And guess what? When they are there, they are actively looking for something for valuable content and connections. They are looking for something that changes the way they are doing business. And that might be you! LinkedIn gives business owners and professionals a convenient, accessibleandeffectiveplacetomakecon- nections, market themselves, and grow their business. MISCONCEPTION #2 LINKEDIN IS BORING AND STUFFY Unfortunately, I let that hold me back for awhile. I would sometimes let myself believe that LinkedIn wasn’t the right place for my content, because it wasn’t “polished” enough. LinkedIn is a professional social network, and as I’ve said about 100 times on this show – professional doesn’t mean boring. In this case it means you’re not posting selfies or pictures of you in your jammies. But there is no “right way” to create content for LinkedIn. The type of content you are already creating is probably fine. You don’t need to change the content you are creating so that it fits into LinkedIn – because you are still you, that is your voice, so do what you do and LinkedIn will shift accordingly. Now – this isn’t to say that there isn’t some horribly boring content out there or that some people are using it to share every boring thing they’ve ever thought. But that doesn’t mean that you should too. One of the biggest influencers on LinkedIn is Goldie Chan – she has green hair and shares a video from Disney probably at least once a week. But that is not true.
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APRIL 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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